Pokemon Glitch Gives Shiny Falinks a Tattoo

A Pokemon fan shared their amusement and confusion after noticing that their new Shiny Falinks had a "tattoo." The odd moment was due to a glitch in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, giving the Pokemon an even more special appearance than its standard Shiny coloring.

When Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launched, it was full of graphical glitches and had significant problems with lag. After patches were released, the game saw most of its egregious issues cleared up, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet now largely perform better on the Switch 2. However, there are still some oddities in the game that can lead to issues like this.

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By Jack Webster

On Reddit, user The_Real_Ooma shared their query with the fandom, wondering why their new Shiny Falinks had "tattoos." A screenshot shows the Shiny Falinks in the No Retreat formation, with the Falinks having the brown and gold coloration that's expected of the Shiny form. However, the segment at the far back on the left is an oddity, with white marks on its body and near its eyes. The curious appearance has amused Pokemon fans, with some joking that the Pokemon is a gangster, or a Shiny-Shiny Pokemon.

Why Does This Shiny Falinks Have a Tattoo?

Thankfully, the reason for this Falinks' appearance is easily explained, and has no negative impact on gameplay. Other gamers have previously spotted similar glitches, with fans in the comments saying they've seen similar issues with a glitched Maushold, Luxray, Shinx, and Lycanroc. The glitch seems to be caused by the game incorrectly reading the texture files that it's supposed to use for the Pokemon's appearance. Either the game is accessing the wrong texture, or it's looking at the wrong part of it, possibly due to misreading the UV coordinates. While the Falinks ended up with some largely unintelligible marks on it, one fan impacted by the glitch said that it caused the word "South" to appear on their Incineroar's leg.

While this appearance would likely make any impacted Pokemon coveted by fellow players, especially if it were a Shiny like this Falinks, it's not a permanent thing. The_Real_Ooma reported that after they reset the game, their Falinks looked like a normal Shiny again, with all the odd marks disappearing entirely. Of course, some Pokemon fans probably wouldn't be thrilled if their Pokemon had writing all over them, so it may be for the best that the glitch isn't permanent. With any luck, Pokemon Legends: Z-A sees significantly fewer issues than Scarlet and Violet at launch, though some fans might want to see this odd glitch return.

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